March 2025 Update

March 31, 2025

Hello from Ketchikan, Alaska! We have some great updates from Pacific Kelp Company to share with you this month, but first, make sure you're signed up for our emails by clicking here!

PKC Founder Nick Stern with some beautiful Alaskan Giant Kelp

We've been awarded a $135,000 equipment grant!

We are very excited to announce that we have received $135,000 in grant funding for equipment purchases as part of the Alaska Mariculture Alliance Mariculture Incentive Grant Program.

This funding comes at a crucial time for Pacific Kelp Company as we are increasing kelp processing capacity at our production facility in Ketchikan. The matching grant funds will be used to purchase large, industrial-scale processing equipment that will increase the throughput and production volumes for both our biofertilizer and biostimulant products, as well as for our cosmetic products.

We are greatly appreciative of this support from the Alaska Mariculture Alliance! We are confident that this money will pay dividends for the entire mariculture industry in Alaska as it will help us solve the two biggest challenges facing the industry today: Lack of processing capacity and lack of access to markets.

Stay tuned for more updates as we start to run our first volumes through the new equipment!

Joining the Washington Maritime Blue Incubator

We are pleased to announce that we have been accepted as one of a small handful of companies to join the Washington Maritime Blue Incubator program!

A bit about the incubator:
"The Port of Seattle commissioned Washington Maritime Blue to create and execute a program focused on helping founders of maritime and ocean related startups by providing access to workspace, mentors, programming, commercial engagements, and more. Over 10 months, selected startups will receive rent-free collaborative working space at the Blue Hub in Fishermen’s Terminal.

In addition to accessing the full-suite of Washington Maritime Blue cluster members, stakeholders, and partners, startups receive unique programming and the opportunity to connect with a global network of maritime and ocean economy mentors. Maritime Blue cluster members include regional, national, and global maritime companies, leading research institutions, government & public agencies, and other community organizations.

As a Ketchikan-based kelp company planning to sell most of our biofertilizer and biostimulant products to farmers in the lower 48, we anticipate transporting significant volumes of cargo through the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. Having a strong network and base of support in Seattle through the Maritime Blue program will help us to establish robust supply chains and build key business relationships in the region!

We look forward to the next 10 months of hard work as we take Pacific Kelp Co. to the next level with the help of the Washington Maritime Blue program!

PKC Founders John and Nick out on the water as part of the KRBD Interview

We're on the radio! Check out our recent interview with Michael Fanelli of KRBD, local community radio for Alaska, where we talk about the challenges facing the mariculture industry in Alaska, our production facility, and all things kelp!

It was great to spend a few days with Michael working on this story. We toured him through the production facility, spoke at length about our plans, and even took him out on the water to see some kelp beds!

We're hopeful that we'll be able to continue to keep the community up to date on our accomplishments and plans through media outlets like KRBD!